During spinal surgery, a patient lays asleep on an operating table in a prone position so that the patient's back is easily accessed. The patient's face is directed downward, towards the floor, and is supported by a sponge-like support. The sponge-like support has a cut-out for the patient's eyes, nose, and mouth. If the patient's head moves or rolls relative to the sponge-like support during the procedure, this can cause external pressure on the orbital area (i.e. the eye, the orbital socket, and the area around the eye). Direct or indirect pressure may be put on the eyeball or on the nerves in the orbital area, especially in the super orbital region. The patient is unaware of this because the patient is asleep during the lengthy procedure (e.g., eight hours, ten hours, twelve hours). The direct pressure can cause blood flow to stop in the orbital area. The direct pressure on the orbital area and/or the diminished blood flow to the eye caused by this external pressure is believed by the present inventors to be a possible cause of intraocular, periorbital, or periocular injuries to the eye(s) of the patient during spinal surgery. These injuries can result in blindness or other injuries.